Use Your Pictures As A Screensaver

If you have a picture or graphic that you’d like to use as a screensaver, here’s how you do that:

  • Ensure you have a copy of the picture on your computer (save it to a unique folder and note which one)
  • Right click on an empty spot of the desktop
  • Click ‘Properties’
  • Choose the ‘Screensaver’ Tab
  • In the Screensaver scroll box, click the arrow and go to ‘My Pictures Screensaver” (or Sideshow)
  • Select the ‘Settings’ button
  • Select the ‘Browse’ button
  • Go to the location on your computer where you’ve saved the picture you want to use
  • Click ‘OK’
  • Click ‘Apply’
  • Click ‘OK’

If you want to have a slideshow of various pictures for your screensaver, just save a few pictures in the same folder and tweak the settings to your liking.


Shortcut Keys Faster Than Shortcuts!

Did you know you can use shortcut keys instead of desktop shortcuts to gain quicker access to programs? Here’s how you can do that:

  • Find the shortcut to the program you want to have fast access to (you may have set it on your desktop, or you can create a shortcut in the program folder itself
  • Right click the shortcut
  • Click ‘Properties’
  • Select ‘Shortcut’ Tab
  • You’ll see information provided about that shortcut, look for the Shortcut Key box, it should read as: None

Shortcut Key

  • Click in that box and enter a letter you’d like to use for your shortcut (example: f)
  • The text in the box will now read as: Ctrl + Alt + F

Shortcut Key

  • Click ‘Apply’
  • Click ‘OK’

Now to access that program, all you need to do is click Ctrl + Alt + F (at the same time) to gain fast access to that program.


How To Unzip Files

Help Unzipping Files

You’ve learned to download files and now what do you do with them? Most seem to have the .zip extension. These files (.zip) are compressed PC files which make downloading large files a much quicker job. But to utilize these files, you’ll need to unzip them first. Here’s how to do that:

You need to have installed an unzipping program, such as WinZip (Shareware) or try this freeware that is similar: JustZIPit (Freeware)

  • Ensure your unzipping software is installed
  • Now whenever you have a file that you need to unzip, just right click on that file and select “Extract To” or “Extract To Folder” (for Winzip) or “JustUnzipit” (for the JustZIPit program).
  • Your unzipping program will now unzip the file contents to the location you specified.

You can either trash the zip file or save it to another location on your computer if you’d like to keep a copy ‘just in case’.

Now open your newly unzipped folder and you’ll find everything unzipped.


Here you will find various tips and tricks to using the Windows platform. Some are targetted for newbies, but there are more intermediate and advanced tips as well. Tweak your computer to be faster, cleaner and more reliable.